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Iran: US Supreme Court ruling on Beirut blast a 'theft'

Iran rejects ruling in which $2bn in frozen Iranian funds will be given to families of victims of 1983 Beirut blast.

22 Apr 2016 09:27 GMT

The blast in Beirut, the single deadliest attack on US forces abroad since World War II, claimed the lives of 241 people [File: Jim Bourdier/AP]

Iran has rejected a ruling by the US Supreme Court that clears the way for families of victims of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and other attacks to collect nearly $2bn in frozen Iranian funds.

The state IRNA news agency quoted the spokesman of Iran's foreign ministry, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, as saying on Thursday that "such a verdict is a theft of the assets and properties of the Islamic Republic of Iran".

From the United Nations, Ansari spoke to IRNA and said Wednesday's ruling is "tantamount to a ridicule of justice and law".